PITTSBURGH, PA. \u2013 Playing for the fifth time in eight days, the No. 2-ranked Pitt volleyball team had moments of ragged play Saturday. But, as they had in each of their first eight matches of the season, the Panthers found ways to be successful in a 25-17, 25-11, 25-23 victory over High Point on the second day of the Panther Challenge.<\/p>\n
Pitt cruised through the first two sets against a High Point team that had pushed No. 12 Penn State to five sets earlier this year. But the other Panthers — the High Point variety — took a 23-20 lead into the latter stages of the third set. Pitt answered with five consecutive points to improve to 9-0 on the season. High Point falls to 3-4 with the loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n
FIRST SET<\/p>\n
SECOND SET<\/p>\n
THIRD SET<\/p>\n
NOTABLES<\/p>\n
UP NEXT<\/p>\n
\n\tPitt fell behind 2-0 but scored seven of the next nine points to force a High Point timeout with the score 7-4.
\n\tThe Panthers began to pull away behind the exquisite passing of Izzy Starck<\/a>, taking the 16-12 advantage.
\n\tPitt hit .517 in the opening set, led by five Blaire Bayless<\/a> kills, for the 25-17 win.
<\/p>\n
\n\tTied at 5-5, Pitt scored four of the next five to build a 9-6 lead.
\n\tThe Panthers continued to build upon that start, taking a 15-8 lead into the technical timeout.
\n\tPitt continued to dominate throughout, winning 25-11.
<\/p>\n
\n\tHigh Point scored the first three points of the frame and they continued to maintain the advantage, taking a 15-11 lead into the technical timeout.
\n\tHigh Point’s lead ballooned to six points at 17-11 before a Pitt timeout.
\n\tThe lead remained six at 19-13 before a Jordyn Dailey<\/a> kill and an attack error brough Pitt to within four.
\n\tAt 21-16, Pitt scored four straight, two on Olivia Babcock<\/a> kills, to force a High Point timeout, clinging to the 21-20 lead.
\n\tHigh Point stopped the run with back-to-back kills but Pitt rallied again.
\n\tBlaire Bayless<\/a> started a 5-0 match-clinching run with a kill, followed by a pair of kills from Babcock. After a High Point attack error, Babcock closed the match with her 20th\u00a0kill for the 25-23 win.
<\/p>\n
\n\tOlivia Babcock<\/a> reached the 20-kill mark for the second time this season and the first time since posting 27 in the season-opening win over Kentucky. She now has 23 career matches with at least 20 kills.
\n\tBabcock hit .436 and added six digs, an ace and a block.
\n\tComing off a career-high 17 kills, Blaire Bayless<\/a> finished with 14 on a .500 attack percentage to go with a team-high eight digs, two blocks and an ace.
\n\tJordyn Dailey<\/a> was the third Panther in double-digits in kills. She hit .750 on 16 swings, finishing with a career-high 12 kills.\u00a0
\n\tIzzy Starck<\/a> dished out 40 assists in three sets, many of the magnificent variety. She added seven digs and two blocks.
\n\tMaiike Heilig had a team-best six blocks and she added three kills and a dig.
\n\tPitt outdug a ninth straight opponent to open the season, 37-34.
\n\tPitt hit .412 and held High Point to just .121 hitting. Pitt also dominated at the net with nine blocks, compared to just three for High Point.
\n\tPitt sold out Victory Heights for the second consecutive day with an announced crowd of 3,005.
\n\tPitt has now won 12 consecutive sets since dropping the first set at Utah.
\n\tPitt has now won 55 straight home matches, tying Hawaii (1986-89) for the tenth longest home win streak in NCAA Division I history.
\n\tWhen ranked No. 2 in the country, Pitt is now 17-2 all-time. The Panthers are also 266-38 when ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll.
\n\tPitt improved to 5-0 all-time against High Point, including a 4-0 home record.
<\/p>\n
\n\tPitt concludes the Panther Challenge Sunday by hosting Wright State at 1 p.m.
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